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B76 

1906 

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BV  3425  .L53  B76  1906  c.l 
Brown,  Arthur  Judson,  1856- 

1963. 
The  Lien-Chou  martyrdom 


*     APR  141908 


The  LIEN-CHOU 
MARTYRDOM 


RUINS  OF  THE  CnURCII  AT  LIEN-CHOU. 

Bunieil  by  the  Mob,  Oct.  28,  1905. 
The  tower  still  stiuids. 


The  Cross  is  still  upheld 
at  Lien-Chou 


Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


MR.  PEAI.K  ON  TIIK  WHARF  AT   SAN   FRANCISCO 
EN  ROUTE  FOR  CHINA. 


J 


By  THE   REV.   ARTHUR  J.  BROWN,  D.D. 


HE  whole  Christian  world  has  been^  shocked  by  the 
terrible  tragedy  at  Lien-chou,  China.  Lien-chou  is 
a  city  of  about  50,000  inhabitants  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  Province  of  Kwang-tung.  It  is  about  250 
miles  from  Canton,  but  as  the  only  route  is  by  a 
winding  and  at  places  rapid  river,  which  is  navigable  only  for 
small  boats,  the  journey  from  Canton  ordinarily  occupies  three 
weeks. 

There  are  innumerable  villages  in  the  neighborhood  so  that 
the  population  of  this  field  which  the  Lien-chou  missionaries 
were  expected  to  work  was  about  one  million.  The  nearest 
foreigners  were  some  Baptist  missionaries  three  and  a  half  days' 
journey  westward  and  some  English  and  German  missionaries 
four  days  eastward.  Northward  the  nearest  missionaries  were 
our  Presbyterian  missionaries  at  Chien-chou  of  the  Hunan  Mis- 
sion who  were  five  days'  journey  away. 

Our  work  at  Lien-chou  was  begun  in  1889  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Henry  of  Canton,  who  had  previously  visited  it  on  his  itinerat- 
ing tours.  A  chapel  was  built  in  1897.  The  first  missionaries 
regularly  stationed  there  were  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Machle,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Lingle  (now  in  the  Hunan  Mission)  and  Miss  Louise  John- 
ston. Dr.  Chesnut  was  added  to  the  force  in  1894.  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Rees  F.  Edwards  joined  the  station  in  1898,  but  were  in 
this  country  on  furlough  during  the  trouble  at  Lien-chou.  At 
the  time  of  the  outbreak  the  work  included  the  care  of  the 
church,  two  hospitals,  one  for  men  and  one  for  women,  and 
boarding  schools  for  boys  and  girls,  the  latter  at  Sam  Kong, 
ten  miles  distant. 

Last  year  Dr.  Chesnut  treated  at  the  Womans'  Hospital 
5,479  patients.  Dr.  Machle  at  the  Men's  Hospital  treated  7,577 
patients.  Converts  multiplied  until  in  the  city  of  Lien-chou 
there  was  a  church  with  an  adult  membership  of  over  300; 
and  the  congregation  had  just  completed  a  handsome  new  church 
edifice  seating  700  people.     This  church  was  dedicated  March 


1,  1905,  and  the  dedication  services  were  attended  by  throngs 
which  crowded  the  cliurch  to  its  utmost  capacity.  There  were 
then  four  other  organized  churches  in  otlier  towns  in  the  station 
district,  while  there  were  Httle  groups  of  behevers  in  a  con- 
siderable number  of  outlying  villages.  The  Boys'  Boarding 
School  was  filled  with  pupils  and  the  demands  for  admission 
were  so  great  that  some  boys  had  to  be  turned  away  for  want 
of  room.  The  Girls'  School  was  also  prosperous  and  there  were 
many  day-schools  in  various  parts  of  the  field. 

The  total  value  of  the  property  destroyed  at  Lien-chou  in- 
cluding personal  efifects  of  the  missionaries  is  $26,400. 

When  the  first  intimations  of  the  trouble  were  received  we 
could  scarcely  credit  them.  Our  letters  from  the  missionaries 
up  to  that  time  had  not  indicated  any  disposition  on  the  part  of 
the  people  to  molest  them.  Indeed  so  secure  did  the  missionaries 
feel  that  the  two  single  women  of  the  station,  Dr.  Eleanor 
Chesnut  and  Miss  Elda  G.  Patterson  remained  at  Lien-chou  alone 
while  their  associates  went  to  the  Mission  Meeting  at  Canton 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant.  The  Board  did  not  know 
this  at  the  time,  but  Miss  Patterson  has  since  reported  that  they 
were  not  molested  and  that  nothing  occurred  to  excite  alarm.  In 
these  circumstances  we  were  startled  beyond  expression  Novem- 
ber 2d  by  the  Associated  Press  despatches  of  November  1st  and 
by  the  following  cable  to  the  Board  the  next  day : 

"Lien-chou  Station  has  been  attacked  and  Mrs.  Machle,  Amy  Machle, 
Mr.  Peale,  Mrs.  Peale,  Miss  Chesnut  killed.  Dr.  Machle,  Miss  Patterson 
safe.     Buildings  destroyed." 

We  at  once  notified  the  relatives  and  special  friends,  and 
also  the  State  Department  at  Washington.  In  reply  to  our  mes- 
sage of  sympathy  and  inquiry,  we  received  the  following  mes- 
sage, November  3rd : 

"Unrest.  Heathen  festival  encroached  Mission  premises.  Fled  cave. 
Discovered.     Killed.     Bodies   recovered." 

The  Revs.  Andrew  Beattie,  D.D.,  and  Wm.  D.  Noyes  and 
Paul  J.  Todd  of  our  Canton  Station,  with  an  escort  of  sixty 
Chinese  soldiers,  promptly  started  for  Lien-chou.  The  fifth  day 
they  met  the  two  survivors,  Dr.  Machle  and  Miss  Patterson,  on 
their  way  down  the  river.  It  was  considered  advisable  to  return 
with  them  to  Canton. 

By  direction  of  the  State  Department,  the  American  Consul- 
General  at  Canton,  Mr.  Lay,  left  for  Lien-chou  Nov.  10th  to 
make  a  thorough  investigation.  He  was  accompanied  by  Lieut. - 
Com.  Evans  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Oregon,  Lieut.  Dismukes  of  the 
Monadnock,  and  Dr.  Machle  and  the  Revs.  A.  A.  Fulton,  D.D., 
Andrew  Beattie,  Ph.D.,  and  Wm.  D.  Noyes,  members  of  our 
Canton  station.  The  Chinese  Government  was  represented  by 
high  ofificials.     Before  starting,  this  Commission  took  the  testi- 


mony  available  in  Canton,  and  on  its  arrival  at  Licn-chou,  Nov. 
19th,  began  a  thorough  investigation  which  occupied  many  days 
and  involved  the  examination  of  scores  of  witnesses.  The  fol- 
lowing narrative  has  been  compiled  from  the  report  of  this  Com- 
mission with  a  few  additions  from  the  letters  of  the  missionaries: 

"Dr.  Machlc  arrived  at  Lien-chou  with  liis  family  on  the  evening  of  the 
27th  of  October,  1905,  after  an  absence  of  about  two  months  on  account  of 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Mission  in  Canton.  He  found  the  Chinese  cele- 
brating Ta  Tsiu,  or  All  Souls'  Day,  with  the  usual  idolatrous  ceremonies. 
The  next  morning  at]Jabout  9  o'clock  he  went  to  the  Men's  Hospital.  As  he 
was  passing  the  joss  temple  adjacent  to  the  Woman's  Hospital,  he  observed 
that  the  Chinese  had  erected  a  mat  shed  on  the  Mission  property  for  the 
musicians  connected  witli  the  ceremony.  At  the  celebraticm  tlie  preceding 
year,  the  same  thing  had  been  done.  Dr.  Machle  had  then  remonstrated 
and  the  village  elders  had  promised  not  to  trespass  again,  but  one  Chinese 
had  exclaimed :  'We  are  Roman  Catholics,  and  we  are  going  to  kill  you 
all  and  burn  your  property.'  In  spite  of  this  former  promise,  the  offense 
was  now  repeated  and  this  same  man  was  engaged  in  the  affair. 

"It  is  a  native  custom  when  desiring  a  conference  with  any  one,  to  send 
him  word  that  you  have  taken  some  object  belonging  to  him.  In  harmony 
with  this  custom.  Dr.  Machle  picked  up  three  of  six  small  joss  cannon,  that 
some  small  boys  were  firing,  and  carried  them  to  the  Men's  Hospital,  perhaps 
80  or  90  yards,  and  placed  them  in  the  dispensary  near  the  entrance.  His 
object  was  to  cause  the  head  men  connected  with  the  celebration  to  come 
to  him  in  order  that  he  might  reason  with  them  relative  to  the  erection  of 
the  mat  shed  on  mission  property.  As  he  had  anticipated,  three  or  four 
of  the  village  elders  soon  came,  accompanied  by  eight  or  nine  younger  men 
from  the  temple. 

"When  Dr.  Machle  had  temperately  reminded  them  of  their  former 
pledge  and  renewed  his  protest,  one  of  the  old  men  said:  'This  is  our  last 
day.  In  the  afternoon  we  have  our  great  feast,  and  then  we  will  take  the 
shed  down  and  not  put  it  up  again  hereafter  on  mission  property.'  Dr. 
Machle  replied:  'If  that  is  the  case,  and  you  promise  not  to  repeat  the 
offense,  this  affair  is  settled  forever.'  Dr.  Machle  then  directed  his  medical 
assistant  to  hand  back  the  cannon.  All  seemed  satisfied  and  turned  to  go 
away.  Dr.  Machle  was  about  to  enter  the  hospital,  when  a  large  crowd 
came  down  the  road  from  an  opposite  direction  from  the  temple  armed  with 
a  sw-ord,  a  revolver  and  sticks.  The  foremost  man  said :  'You  have  stolen 
our  cannon  !'  Dr.  Machle  replied :  'Friend,  I  do  not  do  such  things,'  and 
related  to  them  the  facts  given  above  in  regard  to  the  return  of  the  cannon. 
The  old  man  carrying  the  cannon,  hearing  the  noise,  came  back  and  said: 
'Everything  is  settled,  and  there  is  nothing  the  matter;  go  away;  see,  here 
are  the  cannon  which  have  been  given  back.'  The  old  man  told  Dr.  Machle 
to  go  to  the  hospital,  as  the  affair  was  settled.  This  the  Doctor  was  about 
to  do  when  he  observed  Dr.  Eleanor  Chesnut  talking  to  the  men.  Dr. 
Machle  approached  her  and  urged  her  to  return  to  the  Woman's  Hospital, 
when  a  man  rushed  from  the  crowd  and  aimed  a  revolver  at  Dr.  Machle's 
heart.  The  old  man  took  Dr.  Machle  by  the  arm  and  led  him  to  the  hospital 
gate.  As  he  passed  through,  the  Doctor  was  assaulted  and  after  he  had 
entered,  the  hospital  was  bombarded  with  missiles. 

"Dr.  Chesnut,  seeing  the  turn  of  affairs,  appeared  determined  to  report 
the  matter  to  the  authorities,  for,  instead  of  entering  the  hospital  as  Dr. 
Machle  had  advised,  she  hurried  down  the  alley  between  the  two  hospitals, 
pursued  by  some  of  the  mob,  now  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers.  She  was 
unable  to  affect  her  purpose  of  reaching  the  yamen.  but  took  refuge  on  the 
guard  boat  on  the  river.  She  might  have  escaped  in  safety,  but,  seeing  the 
deady  peril  of  her  associates,  with  characteristic  heroism  and  devotion,  she 


deliberately  turned  back  to  share  their  danger  and  in  accordance  with  her 
request  the  captain  of  the  guard  boat  conducted  her  to  Dr.  Machle's  resi- 
dence on  the  Mission  hill.  Dr.  Chesnut's  pursuers  evidently  suspected  that 
she  was  bent  on  reporting  the  affair  to  the  local  authorities  and  this  still 
further  irritated  them. 

"On  arriving  at  his  house,  Dr.  Machle  at  once  sent  his  card  to  the 
magistrate's  yamen,  requesting  protection.  This  card  was  sent  15  or  20 
minutes  after  the  conversation  with  the  old  man  at  the  hospital  gate.  In 
the  meantime,  the  crowd  was  gathering  in  front  of  the  hospital.  It  appears 
that  when  the  men  returned  to  the  hospital  after  chasing  Dr.  Chesnut,  they 
would  not  accept  the  explanation  of  the  Chinese  elders  that  the  cannon 
had  been  returned  and  the  trouble  all  settled.  That  the  cannon  actually 
had  been  returned  there  can  be  no  doubt.  On  this  point,  Mr.  Koo  Kim,  a 
Chinese  from  Honolulu,  who  was  with  Dr.  Machle  at  the  time  of  the  return 
of  the  cannon,  and  his  entrance  to  the  hospital,  corroborates  the  Doctor's 
testimony,  as  do  several  other  witnesses,  including  Li  Sung  To,  hospital 
assistant,  who  actually  handed  the  cannon  to  one  of  the  old  men.  The 
Commission  also  'feels  that  the  return  of  the  cannon  by  Dr.  Machle  to  the 
old  men  representing  the  worshippers  at  the  celebration  prior  to  any  assault 
either  on  Dr.  Machle  or  the  hospital  is  a  fact.'  Dr.  Machle  states  that 
the  cannon  were  in  his  possession  about  ten  minutes. 

"The  young  men,  however,  showed  by  their  actions  that  they  were 
determined  to  create  a  disturbance  and  insisted  on  entering  the  hospitals. 
Stones  were  thrown  and  windows  and  doors  smashed  and  presently  they 
gained  an  entrance  to  the  Men's  Hospital.  Tin  pans  had  been  beaten,  and 
when  a  tin  pan  is  beaten  scores  of  the  very  worst  characters  of  the  place 
are  sure  to  come  together  in  the  hope  of  finding  an  opportunity  for  plunder. 
These  constituted  a  large  part  of  the  crowd.  While  rushing  through  the 
hospital  searching  for  the  cannon  or  looting,  they  came  across  certain  ana- 
tomical and  pathological  specimens  preserved  in  earthenware  jars,  and  stored 
upstairs.  These  specimens  were  brought  out  and  placed  on  a  tray.  A  pro- 
cession was  formed  led  by  a  man  beating  a  gong,  and  the  specimens  were 
paraded  through  the  street,  attracting  a  large  number  of  people  and  increas- 
ing the  mob  before  the  hospital  to  several  thousands.  About  the  time  the 
sipecimens  were  being  withdrawn  from  the  hospital,  two  civil  and  three  mili- 
tary officials  arrived  on  the  scene,  accompanied  by  about  30  unarmed  sol- 
diers, many  of  them  having  very  recently  enlisted.  The  official  informed  the 
mob  that  the  cannon  had  been  returned  and  that  the  specimens  were  for 
the  purposes  of  instruction,  but  the  mob  was  thoroughly  aroused  and  per- 
sisted in  the  belief  that  Dr.  Machle  had  been  engaged  in  malpractice.  Some 
of  them  claimed  to  have  lost  children  in  the  past  and  assumed  these  speci- 
mens to  be  the  explanation  of  their  disappearance.  The  officials  tried  by 
exhortation  and  pacific  means,  according  to  Chinese  standards  and  custom, 
to  disperse  the  people.  They  were  unquestionably  much  concerned  by  the 
outbreak  and  did  their  best,  short  of  exercising  force,  to  disperse  the  mob, 
but,  unarmed  as  they  were,  the  officials  and  soldiers  were  too  few  in  num- 
bers and  inefficient  in  quality  to  afford  the  necessary  protection  to  life  and 
property. 

"On  becoming  convinced  that  it  was  impossible  to  thwart  the  mob  in 
their  intent  to  burn  the  hospitals,  the  five  officials  gathered  with  their  sol- 
diers in  front  of  Dr.  Machle's  house.  The  officials  assured  him  of  safety 
and  said  that  the  mob  would  not  dare  approach  the  residences.  They 
offered  Dr.  Machle  asylum  at  the  yamen,  to  which  Dr.  Machle  responded : 
T  am  in  your  hands.'  At  this  time,  the  other  missionaries,  Mrs.  Machle  and 
daughter  Amy,  Dr.  Chesnut,  Miss  Patterson  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peale,  were 
all  in  Dr.  Machle's  house  upstairs.  The  situation  was  deemed  serious.  Dr. 
Machle  went  into  the  house,  as  the  officials  supposed,  to  prepare  to  accom- 
pany them  to  the  yamen.  But,  with  the  whole  missionary  party,  he  aban- 
doned the  house  by  a  back  door,  the  officials  being  unaware  of  their 
departure,  and  fled  toward  Sam  Kong,  distant  about  ten  miles. 


"Mr.  Peale  had  a  revolver  and  was  at  first  disposed  to  take  it,  but 
after  consultation  with  the  other  missionaries,  he  left  it  in  the  house,  feeling 
unwilling  to  begin  his  missionary  career  by  any  act  of  violence  against  the 
people  whom  he  had  come  to  save.  At  this  time,  a  native  whom  Dr. 
Machle  had  observed  with  the  official  party  appeared  offering  to  escort  them 
to  a  boat  which  would  take  them  across  the  river,  whence  they  might  reach 
the  yamen.  He  had,  however,  no  connection  with  the  officials.  A  boatman 
started   across    from    the   other    side    when   hailed    by    the   missionaries,    but 


PAVILLION  AT  LUNG  TAU  TSZ  (Dragon  Cave  Monastery). 

Under  this  tree  Dr.  Chesnut  treated  her  last  patient  and  Mrs.  Machle  proclaimed  the  true  God 

with  her  dying  breath. 


returned,  either  because  threatened  or  because  he  did  not  care  to  render 
assistance.  Abandoning  the  idea  of  crossing,  the  fugitive  missionaries  took 
up  their  flight  toward  Sam  Kong,  and  proceeded  as  far  as  a  Buddhist 
temple,  called  Lung  Tau,  distant  about  one  mile.  A  priest  appeared  at  the 
door  and  invited  them  in,  saying  that  they  would  be  safe  within.  The  party 
entered,  but,  as  money  was  demanded,  they  suspected  a  trap  and  immedi- 
ately departed.  They  had  gone  but  a  few  steps,  .scarcely  out  of  the  temple, 
before  the  pursuing  mob  was  heard  near  at  hand.  The  party  then  re-entered 
the  temple.  In  the  rear  of  the  temple  is  a  large  cave  having  many  ramifica- 
tions, the  only  entrance  being  through  the  temple.  In  this  cave,  the  ill-fated 
missionaries  sought  to  conceal  themseh^es.  Dr.  Machle  remained  behind  to 
close  the  temple  door  and  was  the  last  to  enter  the  cave.  When  he 
entered,  he  was  unable  in  the  darkness  and  confusion  to  find  the  others. 
He  called  for  Mrs.  Machle,  but,  receiving  no  answer  and  supposing  that 
the  others  were  all  concealed,  he  rushed  into  one  of  the  narrow  passages. 
Being  close  pressed,  he  submerged  himself  in  water  in  an  obscure  recess, 
and  eluded  detection  until  rescued  by  the  officials  and  soldiers,  some  three 
or  four  hours  later.  Some  of  the  mob  had  by  this  time  gained  entrance 
to  the  cave  and  were  searching  for  the  hiding  places  of  the  missionaries 
with  torches  and  bunches  of  burning  straw.     Among  the  first  to   enter  was 


a  man  who,  though  among  the  crowd,  had  come  to  try  if  possible  to  save 
the  lives  of  some  of  the  fugitives.  Miss  Patterson  owed  her  escape  entirely 
to  the  assistance  of  this  man,  a  non-Christian  native  by  the  name  of  Lo 
Cheung  Shing,  who  was  the  first  to  encounter  her  in  a  place  where  she 
would  certainly  have  been  discovered  by  the  mob.  This  kind-hearted  and 
humane  Chinese  took  her  to  a  place  of  concealment  in  a  remote  branch  of 
the  cave,  where,  standing  in  about  two  feet  of  water  in  a  deep  pit  beneath  an 
overhanging  ledge,  they  escaped  detection.  As  Dr.  Beattie  writes,  'The 
brave,  unselfish  conduct  of  this  man  was  one  bright  and  redeeming  feature 
in  this  tragedy.'  The  other  five  missionaries  were  successively  discovered 
and  dragged  from  the  cave  and  met  their  deaths  probably  in  the  following 
order:  Mrs.  Machlc,  Dr.  Chesnut,  Dr.  Machle's  eleven-year-old  daughter 
Amy,  Mr.  Peale  and  Mrs.  Peale.  Eye-witnesses  relate  that  Mrs.  Machle 
reasoned  with  the  mob  to  the  last,  remaining  perfectly  calm  and  speaking  to 
them  of  the  Christ  in  whose  name  she  had  come,  until  a  blow  from  behind 
ended  her  life.  The  last  act  of  Dr.  Chesnut,  one  of  characteristic  thought- 
fulness  and  unselfishness,  was  to  tear  off  a  portion  of  her  skirt  and  bind  up 
an  ugly  gash  on  the  head  of  a  Chinese  boy  who  had  been  accidentally  struck 
by  a  stone.  Her  last  words  were  a  plea  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peale.  She  told 
the  mob  to  kill  her  if  they  desired  to  do  so,  but  to  spare  the  new  missionaries 
who  had  just  arrived  and  who  could  not  possibly  have  offended  them. 

"Meantime,  the  officials  had  stood  for  a  time  in  front  of  the  house, 
evidently  under  the  impression  that  the  missionaries  were  preparing  to 
accompany  them  to  the  yamen.  This  is  the  explanation  covering  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  missionaries  from  the  possible  protection  by  the  oflScials.  The 
man  who  told  the  missionaries  he  would  guide  them  to  a  boat  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  officials.  The  officials  and  soldiers  went  towards  the  hos- 
pitals at  least  as  far  as  the  Mary  Whitmore  Dwight  Memorial  Hall,  where 
there  is  a  gate  which  they  closed,  and  endeavored  to  keep  the  people  from 
approaching  the  residence  on  the  hill,  but  the  people  found  other  approaches 
and  soon  Dr.  Machle's  house  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire.  The  officials 
rushed  back  intent  on  at  least  saving  life,  but  were  informed  that  the  for- 


POINT      ON      LIEN-OIIOU      KIVKU      WIIEKE     THE 
MARTYRS    WERE    THROWN. 

eigners  had  fled,  together  with  a  number  of  Chinese  Christian  converts,  but 
in  which  direction  they  could  not  learn.  It  was  decided  that  the  sub-prefect 
and  colonel  should  go  in  different  directions.  The  sub-prefect,  who  went 
toward  Ho  Chun,  was  informed  by  natives  whom  he  met  that  the  foreigners 
had  crossed  the  river.  The  colonel  and  major  went  toward  Sam  Kong.  Their 
statements  is  that  having  gone  a  short  distance  they  received  reports  that 
the  missionaries  had  crossed  the  river.  So  the  officers  decided  that  the 
foreigners  had  escaped  to  the  city   and   returned  to  their  own  yamens.     On 

lo 


arriving  at  his  yamen,  the  sub-prefect,  not  finding  the  foreigners,  sent  run- 
ners out  in  search.  Shortly  afterward,  the  colonel  arrived,  stating  that  the 
foreigners  were  not  at  his  yamen.  About  this  time  word  came  that  the 
missionaries  were  at  the  Lung  Tau  temple  and  that  a  crowd  of  several 
hundred  were  following  them. 

"The  ofificials  at  once  proceeded  to  the  temple,  taking  about  thirty  sol- 
diers with  them,  this  time  armed.  But  they  arrived  too  late,  for  the  mur- 
ders had  already  occurred.  Learning  that  there  were  still  two  missionaries 
in  the  cave,  the  officials  proceeded  to  disperse  the  mob  in  order  that  these 
two  lives  might  be  saved.  In  this  they  had  the  aid  of  Wong  Shan  Heung, 
a   Roman   Catholic,   who   the   preceding  year  and   with   another   agent   of   the 


A>IY  MACULE,  TEN  YEARS  OLD. 

Roman  Catholic  Church  had  given  considerable  assistance  in  quelling  the 
demonstration  over  the  objection  to  the  erection  of  the  mat  shed.  Dr. 
Machle  and  Miss  Patterson  were  discovered  and  taken  to  the  yamen  dis- 
guised as  Chinese  soldiers.  They  were  retained  several  days  until  safe  con- 
duct could  be  afforded  down  the  river,  when  they  started  before  daylight 
for  Canton,  accompanied  by  the  Major,  Wong  Chan  Sin.  They  arrived 
safely,   November  8th." 

In  determining  the  causes  of  the  tragedy,  the  official  Com- 
mission finds  that  the  act  of  Dr.  Machle  followed  by  "the  most 
unfortunate  discovery  by  the  people  of  the  anatomical  and 
pathological  specimens  in  the  hospital,  used  for  demonstrating 
the   course   of  surgical   and    medical    instruction,"   were    the    im- 


mediate  occasion  of  the  outbreak.  But  the  Commission  also 
specifies  as  a  direct  cause  the  desire  of  lawless  characters  to  loot 
the  Mission  compound,  and  it  emphasizes  the  following  indirect 
causes  which,  together  with  loot,  are  evidently  the  real  ones: 

"Anti-foreign  feeling,  which  is  omnipresent  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
in  all  parts  of  China.  The  feehng  was  doubtless  fostered  prior  to  the 
massacre,   by  the   American   boycott. 

"The  unruly  condition  of  affairs  in  and  about  Lien-chou  which  has 
existed  during  tlie  last  two  years,  particularly  noticeable  in  the  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  people,  good  and  bad,  to  the  will  of  the  Viceroy  in  his 
intention  to  institute  a  new  form  of  lottery  known  as  the  Po  Piu.  This 
culminated  last  year  about  the  second  of  June  when  a  large  mob  partially 
demolished  a  lottery  shop  and  made  a  signal  demonstration  before  the 
yamen.  Although  two  of  the  leaders  were  arrested,  the  people  were  not 
in  general  punished,  and  the  lottery  was  not  forced  upon  them.  The  people 
were  thus  encouraged  to  depreciate  the  power  of  the  officials  in  favor  of 
their  own  power. 

"Many  of  the  people  of  Tsoi  Yun  Pa  and  vicinity  are  known  to  be 
engaged  in  illicit  salt  trade ;  some  of  these  people  were  known  to  Dr.  Machle 
and  they  may  have  suspected  that  Dr.  Machle  had  informed  or  might  inform 
the  officials." 

The  Commission  also  refers  to  the  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  the  neighboring  village  because  the  foreigners  had 
purchased  land  and  erected  buildings  on  the  hill  overlooking 
them. 

The  Revs.  A.  A.  Fulton,  D.D.,  Andrew  Beattie,  Ph.D.,  and 
Wm.  D.  Noyes,  who  have  resided  many  years  in  China,  who 
speak  the  Chinese  language  fluently  and  who  by  invitation  of 
the  Commission  heard  all  the  testimony,  specify  the  following 
as  the  real  causes  of  the  tragedy: 

"i.  The  very  anti-foreign  and  anti-mission  feeling  that  has  always 
existed  about  Lien-chou. 

"2.  The  anti-feeling  was  intensified  by  the  purchase  of  land  and  the 
erection  of  foreign  buildings. 

"3.  The  encroachment  of  the  festival  last  year,  and  failure  of  the 
authorities  at  that  time  to  make  any  arrests  or  inflict  any  punishment,  not 
even  arresting  the  men  who  threatened  Dr.   Machle  with   death. 

"4  The  disorderly  state  of  affairs  which  existed  by  reason  of  the 
unsuccessful  attempt  of  the  Chinese  authorities  to  establish  a  new  lottery 
monopoly,  that  broke  up  the  favorite  gambling  places  of  the  people  and 
aroused  their  owners. 

"5.  The  condition  of  affairs  resulting  from  the  enrollment  of  bad  char- 
acters in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  the  reluctance  of  the  officials  to 
punish  for  wrong  doing,  lest  the  priest  should  take  up  the  case  and  report 
it  to  the  Viceroy  through  the  French  Consul,  who  would  make  trouble  for 
the  local  magistrate. 

"6.  The  influence  of  boycott  posters,  newspapers,  inflammatory  litera- 
ture and  the  Viceroy's  proclamation  in  antagonizing  the  people  against  for- 
eigners.    Large  quantities  of  these  placards  were  distributed." 

We  have  just  ground  for  indignation  in  the  disposition  of 
certain  newspapers  to  blame  the  missionaries.     It  is  nothing  less 


than  brutal  to  sneer  at  men  and  women  who  were  devotedly  and 
lovingly  consecrating  their  lives  to  the  uplifting  of  the  Chinese, 
and  who  have  sealed  their  devotion  by  their  blood.  The  en- 
croachment of  a  heathen  festival  upon  Protestant  mission 
property,  especially  after  it  had  been  made  a  year  before  and 
protested  against,  can  only  indicate  a  deliberate  purpose  to  in- 
sult the  missionaries  and  to  make  trouble  with  them. 

It  is  not  at  all  to  the  discredit  of  Dr.  Machle  that  he  took 
advantage  of  his  property  rights  to  protest,  especially  as  the 
festival  was  characterized  by  the  firing  of  cannon,  the  exploding 
of  fire-crackers,  the  strident  music  and  other  distracting  noises 
incident  to  a  Chinese  religious  celebration.  Such  a  tumult  must 
have  been  highly  injurious  to  the  many  patients  in  the  two 
hospitals  on  the  premises,  to  say  nothing  of  the  discomfort  and 
possible  danger  to  the  missionary  families  from  the  excited  and 
turbulent  crowd.  The  temporary  shed  could  be  moved,  but  the 
hospitals  could  not.  But  such  a  protest,  while  perhaps  sufficient 
to  excite  a  personal  attack  upon  Dr.  Machle,  hardly  seems  an 
adequate  cause  for  the  murder  of  five  other  people  and  the  total 
destruction  of  the  entire  mission  property,  while  Dr.  Machle 
himself  was  unharmed.  Nor  was  the  seizing  of  the  alleged  can- 
non a  real  cause.  Dr.  Beattie,  who  saw  them  afterwards,  says 
that  they  were  only  toy  cannon  about  six  inches  long.  Beside, 
they  were  returned  before  the  outbreak  and  the  leaders  of  the 
mob  knew  this,  for  both  the  village  elder  and  the  officials  told 
them. 

As  for  the  skeleton  and  other  specimens,  such  objects  are  a 
legitimate  possession  of  a  physician.  But  one  can  easily  under- 
stand how,  when  captured  and  borne  through  the  streets,  they 
would  inflame  an  ignorant  and  superstitious  people.  The  leaders 
of  the  mob  evidently  knew  about  the  specimens  and  deliberately 
hunted  for  them  and  used  them  to  incite  the  riot.  It  is  plain 
that  these  things  were  merely  superficial  causes.  The  public 
mind  was  inflamed  against  all  foreigners,  independently  of  any- 
thing that  the  missionaries  did,  so  that  an  accidental  and  other- 
wise unimportant  act  on  their  part  brought  to  a  crisis  a  situation 
that  had  already  become  strained  by  reason  of  other  influences. 

It  is  grossly  unjust  in  such  circumstances  to  charge  that 
the  act  of  an  individual  missionary  could  have  caused 
the  massacre.  The  act  of  Dr.  Machle,  perfectly  proper  in  itself, 
and  which  in  ordinary  circumstances  would  have  had  no  un- 
fortunate result  whatever,  proved  to  be  simply  a  spark  in  a  pow- 
der magazine  already  prepared  by  other  causes. 
The  Rev.  Henry  V.  Noyes,  D.D.,  of  Canton,  writes: 

"I  wish  to  say  with  the  strongest  possible  emphasis  that  our  missionaries 
in  Lien-chou  have  been  rare  exanuples  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by 
tactful  treatment  of  the  Chinese  and  constant  discretion.  That  they  have 
been  attacked  by  a  brutal  band  of  ruffians  does  not  change  their  conduct 
and  character  one  iota." 

13 


All  the  presumptions  in  common  fairness  should  be  in  favor 
of  missionaries  of  known  character,  intelligence  and  devotion. 
One  of  the  missionaries  who  was  killed,  Dr.  Eleanor  Chesnut, 
was  a  physician  who  had  devoted  herself  for  years  to  loving- 
ministrations  to  the  sick  and  injured,  and  she  was  greatly  beloved 
by  multitudes  who  cared  nothing  for  Christianity.  Of  the  others, 
one  was  the  wife  and  another  the  daughter  of  a  physician,  Dr. 
E.  C.  Mlachle,  and  the  other  two,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  John  Rogers 
Peale  were  new  missionaries  who  left  this  country  August  16th, 
and  had  been  in  Lien-chou  only  a  day  and  could  not  have 
ofifended  anyone. 


OUTSIDE  TUE  WOMAN'S  HOSPITAL,  LIEN-CHUU. 

It  is  not  without  significance  that  nearly  all  the  Chinese  in 
America  have  come  from  the  single  Province  of  Kwang-tung  in 
which  Lien-chou  is  situated.  Almost  every  considerable  town 
has  or  has  had  a  representative  in  our  country.  The  stories  of 
the  ill  treatment  of  Chinese  in  the  United  States  have  gone  back 
lO  China  by  letter  and  by  word  of  mouth.  The  Chinese  know 
how  their  countrymen  have  been  butchered  and  their  property 
destroyed  in  scores  of  American  towns.  Until  recently  the 
resentment  did  not  find  popular  expression,  but  now  China  is  be- 
coming more  conscious  of  her  power,  more  jealous  of  her 
dignity  and  less  disposed  to  submit  to  insult  and  discrimination. 

The  fact  which  (piickly  developed  that  the  irritation  of  the 
people  was  not  peculiar  to  Lien-chou  but  that  it  prevailed  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  in  several  other  and  distant  parts  of  the 

14 


Empire,  shows  that  the  real  causes  were  general  in  their  opera- 
tion and  independent  of  the  individuals  and  their  acts  at  Lien- 
chou.  Missionaries  and  press  correspondents  at  a  score  of 
widely  separated  places  suddenly  reported  a  tension  of  the 
Chinese  mind  and  threats  of  trouble.  The  Chinese  mind  was 
stirred  to  a  ferment  independently  of  the  missionaries,  and  con- 
ditions at  Lien-chou  needed  only  some  slight  pretext  to  break 
forth  in  fury. 

Of  interest  from  this  view-point  is  the  following  opinion 
expressed  by  the  late  Hon.  Charles  Denby,  for  thirteen  years 
American  Minister  at  Peking,  in  the  book  published  since  his 
recent  death : 

"On  an  analysis  of  llic  bitter  anti-Christian  movement,  we  find 
tliat  it  is  largely  to  be  explained  as  primarily  anti-foreign ;  that  is, 
largely  directed  against  missionaries  solely  as  foreigners,  not  solely 
as  teachers  of  a  foreign  religion.  We  find  that  'Some  of  the  spe- 
cific charges  made  against  the  missionaries  have  no  reference  to  their  teach- 
ings  Few,  if  any,  accusations  of  aggressiveness  and  personal  violence 

on  the  part  of  missionaries  against  Chinese  can  be  substantiated,  while  there 
are  authentic  cases  of  bad  conduct  against  Chinese  by  foreigners  of  other 
classes.  The  missionaries,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  are  loved  by  those 
Chinese  with  whom  they  succeed  in  establishing  intimate  relations,  and  they 
are  almost  universally  respected  by  all  classes  in  the  communities  in  which 
they  are  well  known." 

The  local  officials  in  this  particular  instance  appear  to  have 
done  what  they  could  to  protect  the  missionaries  after  the  out- 
break had  actually  occurred,  but  the  official  Commission  of  In- 
vestigation does  not  exonerate  them.     It  declares: 

"The  preparation  of  the  officials,  both  civil  and  military,  in  that  condition 
of  affairs  obtaining  at  Lien-chou  on  or  about  the  28th  of  October,  1905,  was 
not  such  as  to  enable  them  to  preserve  law  and  order  in  the  protection  of  life 
and  property. 

"It  is  believed  that  a  prompt  and  firm  tone  on  the  part  of  the  officials 
when,  they  arrived  at  the  hospitals  prior  to  the  burning  might  have  been 
efficacious.  The  officials,  instead  of  using  their  soldiers  and  making  a  firm 
stand  with  fixed  bayonets  and  calling  upon  the  people  to  disperse  or  they 
would  fire,  merely  depended  upon  pacific  means,  that  of  exhortation. 

"The  officials  only  claim  to  have  had  in  and  around  Lien-chou,  for  a  popu- 
lation of  one  hundred  thousand,  on  or  about  the  28th  of  October,  120  sol- 
diers. They  only  claim  to  have  had  with  them  30  soldiers  at  the  scene  of 
disorder.  The  officials  admit  their  inability  to  have  coped  with  the  situation. 
We  hold  that  the  officials  and  troops  were  insufficient  in  number  and  ineffi- 
cent  in  quality,  and  for  this  condition  of  afifairs  do  hold  the  Viceroy  of 
Kwang-tung  Province  directly  responsible." 

The  causes  may  be  many  and  complex.  But  we  need  not 
multiply  words  of  explanation.  Enough  for  us  that  our  repre- 
sentatives are  not  justly  open  to  any  accusation  of  malice  or 
aggression  or  unfairness  toward  the  people  among  whom  they 
lived  and  labored  in  the  Saviour's  name.  For  those  who  would 
seek  more  particularly  into  conditions,  of  which  this  outbreak 

15 


MliS.  KUVVAUD  C.  MACULE. 


was  only  a  symptom,  there  are  the  consular  reports.  But  behind 
all  fact  and  circumstance  there  lies  the  lesson  of  Lien-chou's 
tragedy — and  even  through  the  dark  cloud  of  evil  and  through 
this  mystery  of  sorrow  we  must  look  for  its  message  and  its 
meaning.  Every  providence  of  God  brings  its  message  to  the 
waiting  heart.  In  every  such  mystery  there  comes  a  divine 
appeal.  And  surely  the  meanings  of  this  message  are  not  far  to 
seek.  The  glory  of  self-forgetfulness  in  service  is  there ;  the 
fragrance  of  faithful  witnessing  is  there,  and  there  the  heart- 
searching  call  to  reality  of  consecration  that  does  not  count 
life  dear. 

Neither  the  hero  worship  of  treasured  legends  nor  the 
fidelity  of  historians'  record  can  show  a  tenderness  of  self-forget- 
ful service  surpassing  that  of  one  who  in  a  moment  of  deadly 
peril  hungered  to  bind  up  another's  wound.  No  heart  could 
show  such  love  save  one  filled  with  the  love  and  spirit 
of  a  Master  who  while  going  to  His  own  death  could 
pause  to  heal  a  servant's  wounded  ear.  We  need  not 
turn  to  the  records  of  martyr  lives  in  other  ages  to 
find  the  meaning  of  "faithful  unto  death."  when  another  whom 
we  knew  and  loved  and  who  had  served  her  Lord  faithfully  day 
by  day  passed  into  His  presence  with  His  message  on  her  very 
lips.  And  if  sometimes  we  seek  from  Him  a  word  of  comfort 
in  a  life  service  that  seems  unsatisfying  we  may  hear  again  the 
message  coming,  now,  from  that  calm  riverside  in  far  away 
South  China,  that  success,  in  God's  thought,  is  not  measured 
by  the  length  of  service  but  by  its  spirit  and  its  consecration. 

In  the  glory  of  these  graces  so  manifest  on  that  day  of  trial 
and  of  triumph  we  find  the  deeper  meaning  of  the  appeal  that 
the  story  must  bring  home  to  every  life. 

"Ye  are  witnesses.  As  the  Father  hath  sent  me  even  so 
send  I  you."  Even  so  send  I  you  ....  to  a  life  of  loving,  self- 
forgetful,  self-sacrificing  service  in  His  name,  it  may  be  to  a 
life  that  shall  find  its  highest  glory  in  a  death  for  His  sake  that 
will  bear  abundant  fruit.  And  surely  in  every  heart  that  appeal 
will  find  its  echo  in  the  words,  "I  must  work  the  works  of  Him 
that  sent  me  while  it  is  day." 

Those  who  are  most  nearly  face  to  face  with  the  reality  of 
this  seeming  calamity  were  the  first  to  hear  its  message  of 
appeal.    The  Rev.  Wm.  D.  Noyes  of  Canton,  writes : 

"Perhaps  this  seems  a  strange  time  to  call  for  volunteers,  but  the 
Canton  Mission  never  needed  them  more.  We  did  not  see  how  we  could 
get  along  with  the  small  force  before,  and  now  our  thin  line  is  thinner. 
The  murderers  need  the  Gospel.  The  people  not  responsible  there  in  Lien- 
chou  need  it.  We  know  that  this  work  must  go  on.  In  our  grief  we  must 
write  for  more  like  Mrs.  Machle,  Dr.  Chesnut  and  the  Peales  to  come  out 
and  do  what  they  would  have  Hked  to  do.  They  did  not  count  their  lives 
dear.  By  their  death  they  have  claimed  Lien-chou  for  Christ  and  we  must 
enter  into  this  heritage.     Don't  have  thoughts  too  hard  against  the  Chinese !" 

17 


UU.  ELEANOR  CUESNUT. 


The  stricken  Dr.  Maclile  writes: 

"I  hope  I  shall  have  the  blessed  privilege  of  rebuilding  the  mission  and 
spending  my  remaining  days  among  those  people  who  in  a  frenzy  of  anger 
were  influenced  by  about  two  hundred  rowdies  to  sanction  their  work  of 
destruction  and  pillage.  The  spiritual  work  of  the  mission  still  temains. 
Christianity  at  Lien-chou  has  not  been  stamped  out.  It  is  only  a  matter  of 
time  when  the  work  at  Lien-chou  will  be  in  a  much  more  flourishing  con- 
dition than  it  was  before  this  trouble.  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the 
seed  of  the  church.  The  greater  number  of  the  6,000  persons  who  wit- 
nessed the  atrocities  of  the  two  hundred  rowdies,  thieves  and  gamblers, 
are  now  very  sorrowful  that  they  even  lent  their  presence.  Hundreds  of 
the  people  had  been  benefited  by  the  hospital.  These,  when  the  excitement 
of  that  day  was  over,  must  have  thought  of  the  benefits  received  and  are 
no  doubt  at  heart  our  friends." 

And  will  tlic  Church  respond?  Already  the  message  has 
gone  home  to  many  a  heart  and  the  response  has  begun  to  be 
heard.  The  pastor  of-  the  Church  at  Moosic,  Pa.,  which  was 
supporting  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peale  writes: 

"Our  church  feels  that  this  is  a  call  to  a  deeper  consecration  to  the 
work  for  which  Mr.  Peale  gave  himself,  and  there  is  open  expression  that 
we  must  have  two  men  to  '^tand  for  us  in  the  place  of  our  pastor  who  has 
fallen.  Our  work  will  be  the  firmer  because  of  this  call  of  our  God.  The 
church,  in  fact  the  town,  feels  that  we  must  not  only  not  stop  our  work, 
but  increase  it." 

But  will  any  yoimg  men  be  willing  to  go  to  such  a  place? 
Already  the  seed  that  fell  into  the  ground  and  died  is  bringing 
forth  its  fruit.  Four  men  promptly  ofifered  to  go.  Rev.  Mr.  J. 
S.  Kunkle  was  graduated  at  the  Western  Theological  Seminary 
last  year,  and  was  appointed  to  the  Canton  Mission  with  Mr. 
Peale,  but  delayed  going  for  a  year  as  he  was  given  a  fellow- 
ship for  superior  class  standing,  so  that  he  is  now  spending  a 
year  at  Oxford  University,  England.  Instead  of  congratulating 
himself  on  his  escape,  he  writes: 

"I  cannot  help  thinking  that  had  I  been  more  zealous,  it  would  have 
been  I  that  gained  a  martyr's  crown,  and  a  better  than  I  spared  for  the 
work.  Now  I  earnestly  seek  the  privilege  of  taking  the  place  of  one  of  those 
faithful  ones  who  have  given  their  lives  for  the  cause.  If,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  Board,  these  sad  events  and  the  increased  need  justify  my  leaving  my 
studies  and  proceeding  at  once  to  the  field,  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  do  so. 
I  shall  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  go  at  any  time.  I  hope  our  Government 
will  take  no  steps  that  will  lessen  the  effect  upon  the  natives  of  the  dying 
testimony  of  these  faithful  servants  of  God." 

We  believe  that  the  whole  Church  will  be  as  deeply  stirred 
as  the  Board  has  been  by  such  expressions,  and  that  they  are 
indicative  of  the  deep  and  solemn  determination  of  the  Presby- 
terians of  our  country  to  press  the  work  at  Lien-chou  with  new 
vigor.  Already  a  member  of  the  Board  Mr.  Warner  Van 
Norden,  has  pledged  $4,000  for  the  Men's  Hospital,  and  Mirs. 
James  H.  A.  Brooks  $3,000  for  the  AVomen's  Hospital  in  memory 


of  Mr.  James  H.  A.  Brooks.  The  Board  feels  that  as  soon  as 
conditions  in  that  rej^^ion  permit  the  station  should  be  rebuilt. 
There  are  still  needed  a  Boys'  Boarding^  School  (about  $3,000, 
new),  a  Girls'  Boardino-  School  (about  $3,000,  new),  a  Church 
(about  $2,000),  and  three  residences  ($2,500  each,  one  new).  This 
would  give  us  a  better  equipped  station  than  we  had  before, 
but  it  would  still  be  a  modest  equipment,  and  would  provide  only 
what  is  really  needed  for  the  enlarging  work  in  this  very 
promising  field.  An  enlarged  work,  maintained  with  deepened 
consecration  in  this  place  made  sacred  by  precious  sacrifice, 
will  be  the  most  fitting  memorial  to  those  whose  departure  we 
mourn  while  in  the  glory  of  their  triumphant  service  we  rejoice. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Mrs.  Edward  C.  Machle  (Ella  May  Wood)  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  Oct.  28,  1859.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Howard 
C.  and  Hannah  C.  Wood.  She  was  graduated  from  the  Ger- 
mantown  High  School,  and  established  a  successful  kinder- 
garten in  Philadelphia.  As  a  Christian  worker  she  was  an  ac- 
tive member  of  the  Wharton  Street  Church,  especially  in  its 
Sunday-school  and  its  class  for  Chinese.  In  July,  1889,  she  was 
married  to  Dr.  Machle  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  who  while  a  student 
in  the  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia  labored  with  her  for  the 
Chinese  in  AVharton  Street  Church.  They  sailed  for  China 
with  Miss  Louise  Johnston,  the  first  missionaries  sent  to  Lien- 
chou.  Mrs.  Machle  labored  efificiently  as  a  missionary  in  the 
Girls'  Boarding  School,  among  the  women  in  their  homes,  and 
the  patients  of  the  Hospital,  to  whom  convalescence  was  made 
less  tedious  through  her  ministry  of  love  and  sympathy.  Four 
children  were  born.  Two  are  being  educated  at  Wooster,  Ohio, 
one  died  of  diphtheria  at  Lien-chou  about  a  year  ago,  and  sweet 
little  Amy.  eleven  years  of  age,  was  killed  with  her  mother. 
Mrs.  Machle  was  a  devoted  missionary,  a  loving  wife  and 
mother,  and  a  noble  woman  in  every  way.  On  her  forty-sixth 
birthday  she  laid  down  her  life  for  Christ. 

Miss  Eleanor  Chesnut,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Waterloo,  Iowa, 
Jan.  8,  1868.  Orphaned  in  infancy,  she  spent  her  childhood  with 
relatives.  At  the  age  of  twelve,  while  living  with  an  aunt  in 
Missouri,  she  heard  of  Park  College.  With  an  ardent  desire 
for  an  education,  she  sought  admission,  as  soon  as  she  was  old 
enough,  and  after  a  creditable  course  was  graduated.  Conse- 
crating her  life  to  missions,  she  studied  nursing  at  the  Illinois 
Training  School  in  Chicago,  but  not  being  satisfied  with  this  she 
took  the  full  course  at  the  Woman's  Medical  College.  After 
valuable  experience  as  house  physician  for  six  months  at  the 
Woman's   Reformatory  in    South    Framingham.     Mass.,    and    a 


course  of  Bible  study  at  Moody  Institute,  Chicago,  she  sailed 
for  China  in  the  fall  of  1894.  Her  eleven  years  of  missionary 
service  were  broken  by  only  one  furlough,  and  that  was  spent 
in  post-graduate  medical  work  in  New  York,  in  caring  for  a 
friend,  in  raising  money  for  a  chapel  in  China,  and  in  further 
study  at  Moody  Institute.  She  was  proficient  in  the  Chinese 
language,  and  in  addition  to  her  heavy  hospital  and  dispensary 
work    made   several    translations    into    Chinese,    studied    French 


IN  THE  ("IIILDRENS  WARD. 

and  German  for  pleasure,  conducted  a  class  of  medical  students, 
trained  two  nurses,  taught  a  blind  girl  massage  and  helped  in 
school  and  church  work.  Once  a  week  she  traveled  ten  miles 
on  horseback  to  hold  a  clinic  at  Sam  Kong.  Last  year  she 
treated  5,479  patients  at  the  Woman's  Hospital.  Her  devotion 
to  her  work  knew  no  bounds  and  led  to  great  sacrifices  most 
willingly  made.  She  denied  herself  many  of  the  comforts  and 
some  of  the  necessaries  of  life  in  order  that  she  might  aid  desti- 
tute Chinese  women.  Money  that  friends  gave  her  for  personal 
use,  and  for  a  residence  she  put  into  the  mission  work,  and  con- 
tinued to  live  in  cramped  and  uncomfortable  rooms  over  her 
hospital.     She  was  singularly  direct  and  truthful  in  all  she  said 


and  did,  a  true  fricMul.  a  brave  and  fearless  woman.       She  spoke 
of  death  as  welcome,  at  any  time,  for  Christ  and  China. 

During  the  year  tliat  J)r.  Chesnut  lived  alone,  the  only  white 
person  in  Lien-chon,  the  station  made  substantial  progress  and 
she  was  unmolested.  An  exploring  English  scientist  passed 
through  Licn-chou  and  was  astonished  to  find  this  young  Ameri- 
can woman  in  that  remote  interior  city.  He  paid  high  tribute 
to  her  courage  and  made  a  gift  to  her  hospital.  When  the  Rev. 
W.  H.  Lingle  made  her  a  visit,  he  found  her  about  to  amputate 
a  man's  leg  in  order  to  save  his  life.  Mr.  Lingle  assisted  her, 
but  the  slight  woman  did  the  surgical  work  herself.  The  man 
lived  and  believed  in  her  and  in  Christ.  Last  year  she  asked 
the  Board  to  send  another  physician  to  take  her  hospital  at 
Lien-chou  and  to  permit  her  to  remove  to  an  out-lying  city 
where  no  work  was  being  done  saying  that  she  was  not  afraid 
to  live  alone.  But  the  Board  felt  that  the  plan  was  unwise.  It 
indicated,  however,  her  splendid  courage  and  zeal.  When  dur- 
ing her  furlough  she  heard  Dr.  Fenn  of  Peking  in  an  address  on 
China  say  that  if  he  had  many  lives  he  would  gladly  give  them 
all  for  that  country,  she  turned  to  a  friend  and  said,  "I  honestly 
believe  that  I  could  say  the  same."  Her  physical  strength  was 
not  sufficient  for  her  indefatigable  labors  and  about  a  year  ago 
she  had  a  very  serious  illness.  She  recovered  but  did  not  fully 
regain  her  vigor.    In  her  last  known  letter  she  quoted  these  lines : 

"Being   in   doubt,   I   say, 

Lord,  make  it  plain; 
Which  is  the  true,  safe  way? 

Which  would  be  vain? 
I   am  not  wise  to  know, 

Nor  sure  of  foot  to  go, 
My  blind  eyes  cannot  see 

What  is  so  clear  to  Thee. 
Lord,   make   it  clear  to   me. 

"Being  perplexed,  I   say. 

Lord,   make   it   right; 
Night  is  as  day  to  Thee, 

Darkness  as  light. 
T   am  afraid  to  touch 

Things  that  involve  so  much, 
My   trembling  hand   may   shake, 

My  skilless  hand  may  break, 
Tliine    can    make    no    mistake." 


The  Rev.  John  Rogers  Peale  was  born  in  IMoomficld,  Pa., 
September  17,  1879,  and  was  graduated  from  Lafayette  College 
in  1902.  He  was  an  honor  man  in  his  class,  President  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  and  editor  of  the  College  Annual.  He  won  the  Cole- 
man Biblical  Prize  in  his  Freshman  year,  and  was  three  times 
a  delegate  to  Northfield  and  was  leader  of  the  Student  Volunteer 


Band.  His  chief  purpose  while  in  College  was  the  spiritual  up- 
lift of  the  college  life.  He  entered  Princeton  Seminary  in  the  fall 
of  1902  and  became  very  popular  there  also.  A  fellow  student 
writes:  "Seldom  has  there  been  a  student  more  intensely  in- 
terested in  Foreign  Missions.  He  was  a  man  of  constant  prayer 
life.  Many  men  testify  that  on  coming  into  his  room,  they  often 
found  him  on  his  knees.  He  kept  a  map  of  the  world  hung  on 
his  wall  to  keep  ever  before  him  the  claims  of  the  world." 


THE  REV.  JOHN  ROGERS  PEALE. 


He  was  graduated  from  Princeton  Seminary  in  1905,  and 
sailed  for  China  August  16th.  Almost  immediately  after  his 
arrival  the  massacre  occurred.  His  death  came  as  a  great  shock 
to  the  entire  student  body  at  Princeton.  Yet  no  greater  stimu- 
lus could  have  come  to  the  Seminary  for  Foreign  Missions  than 
the  martyrdom  of  this  one  beloved  by  all,  who  worked  so  zeal- 
ously for  that  cause  while  here.  Instead  of  its  being  a  damper 
thrown  upon  the  cause,  men  are  hearing  in  it  a  clarion  call  to 
rise  and  fill  the  gap  left  vacant.  On  Sunday  afternoon,  Novem- 
ber 4,   a   memorial  service  was  held   and  practically  the   entire 

23 


student  body  and  faculty  were  there.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
impressive  meetings  ever  held  in  Princeton.  Mr.  Peak  often 
began  a  missionary  address  with  the  dying  words  of  Charles 
Young,  who  died  while  a  senior  in  this  Seminary,  "Go  to  the 
heathen,  they  cannot  die  as  I  die."  His  message  to  Princeton 
Seminary  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  large  is  now  an  invita- 
tion, "Come  to  the  heathen,  they  cannot  die  as  I  die."  One  of 
his  last  letters  breathed  a  spirit  of  such  large-minded  sympathy 


MRS.  REBECCA  (ilLLESPIE  PEAEE. 

with  the  Chinese  that  when  it  was  sent  to  Sir  Chentung  Liang 
Cheng,  Chinese  Minister  at  Washington,  His  Excellency  replied: 
'"His  words  seem  to  me  to  have  a  prophetic  ring.  In  his  un- 
timely death  America  has  lost  a  noble  son,  and  China  a  true 
friend." 

Mrs,  Rebecca  Gillespie  Peale  was  born  in  Cecil  County, 
Maryland,  August  16,  1878.  Mr.  Horace  Gillespie  writes:  "Her 
father,  George  Gillespie,  died  when  she  was  but  three  years  of 
age.     She  became  a  member  of  the   Nottingham   church  when 

24 


fourteen  years  old.  About  four  years  ago  she  met  Mr.  Peale 
and  was  married  to  him  June  29,  1905,  a  few  weeks  before  start- 
ing for  China.  Mrs.  Peale  lived  a  simple,  happy  and  cheerful 
life.  She  was  reared  in  a  home  where  Christianity  was  a  thing 
to  be  lived.  Whatever  she  did  in  the  social  and  spiritual  life  of 
the  church  was  done  freely  and  with  pure  enjoyment.  She  was 
interested  in  mission  work  as  in  every  other  good  thing  that 
came  into  her  life.  When  she  decided  to  go  to  China,  she  took 
up  her  work  with  an  enthusiasm  which  grew  as  she  learned 
more  about  it  and  of  her  husband's  devotion  to  it.  Her  character 
was  well  summed  up  in  a  recent  letter  of  a  friend  to  her  mother: 
'There  are  none  of  us  who  knew  her,  whom  she  had  not  helped 
in  showing  how  daily  life  might  be  made  a  religion,  and  how 
God's  service  might  consist  in  doing  our  ordinary  duties  cheer- 
fully and  well.'  " 

All  of  these  beloved  missionaries  had  unreservedly  con- 
secrated themselves  to  the  service  of  Christ.  They  were  ready  to 
go  at  any  time  that  the  Master  called.  They  were  faithful  unto 
death,  and  they  have  received  the  martyr's  crown.  May  God 
give  unto  us  all  like  fidelity !  In  the  immortal  words  of  Lincoln 
at  Gettysburg,  "We  should  'be  dedicated  to  the  great  task  re- 
maining before  us ;  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  in- 
creased devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full 
measure  of  devotion ;  that  we  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain." 


Form  No.  777 


Date  Due 

OC  ltl*S 

1 

00  2^^^^ 

Uo^^5tf 

«'.'^'' 

f) 

THE  WILLETT   PRESS 
NEW  YORK 


p 


